LOST in a sea of leaves - Birmingham bobby James Jempson wades through a chest-high field of cannabis. Amazingly, this was not a giant country greenhouse but the bedroom of a detached house in a quiet residential street in Stechford.

And this was only part of a massive haul of cannabis found by police. About 400 mature plants, with an estimated street value stretching into thousands of pounds, were seized when police swooped on the drugs factory.

Both bedrooms of the rented property had been converted into a hot-house to cultivate plants and the attic had been transformed into a nursery with row-upon-row of seedling boxes.

The mature leaves were ready to be picked, dried and prepared for sale. But police said they had managed to stop the drugs from hitting city streets.

Officers raided the property in Wyndhurst Road early yesterday as part of an operation to target dealers, leaving unsuspecting neighbours stunned. The privately-owned property had been rented out and a huge hydroponics set-up of heaters and lights installed.

A 31-year-old Vietnamese man was arrested at the property on suspicion of cultivating the drug and was taken to Stechford police station for questioning. A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "This was part of an intelligence-led operation into the cultivation of cannabis.

"Several rooms within the property have been turned into areas where plants could be allowed grow. More than 400 plants were recovered. We are determined to target those behind this illegal trade."